Making the most of Newark’s charity shops, to save your wallet and the environment

It’s no secret that Newark has a lot of charity shops — but that means there’s plenty of opportunities to find a bargain.

Logging on to social media these days you’re very likely to see young people filming ‘thrift hauls’ and promoting second-hand fashion.

The rise of apps such as Depop and Vinted, which focus of the sale of pre-loved clothing, cement this change in trends among a large portion of younger people.

Better for the environment, your wallet, and an opportunity to find unique and often higher-quality vintage items, are just some of the factors which make it appealing.

In a bid to prove that charity shopping can be trendy, reporters Eloise Gilmore and Marta Tavares went on a bargain hunt in town.

We found everything from high-end to high-street brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Topshop, Zara, Missguided and Bershka, at unbeatable prices.

Many charity shops even has new with tags items, offering on-trend clothing for a fraction of the price.

Our hunt started at The British Heart Foundation shop, in St Marks Place, where we were both able to find an outfit for under £10.

Marta’s picks totalled £10 for a blouse and skirt, both £5, while my outfit came in at £9.50, with jeans for £6.50 and a shirt for £3.

We also put together an outfit, complete with hat, for the Advertiser Ladies’ Day — so if you’re looking to fulfil this year’s theme of sustainable fashion, charity shops are a great place to start.

There was also a dedicated rack for plus-size fashion, with sizes up to 24.

The YMCA charity shop, also in St Marks Place, which has a larger premises than many other charity shops, and plenty to pick through including work wear, formalwear and accessories.

Brands included Monsoon, Topshop and Nasty Gal, and there were a number of new with tags items including a rack of Nasty Gal dresses for just £4.50 each.

They also had a large selection of menswear and children’s clothing.

For a more curated selection of second-hand clothing, head to White Rose on Stodman Street.

The store’s four for £12 deal applies to most of the stock, which includes activewear, menswear and a vast selection of women’s clothing.

Here we picked out some holiday-ready outfits with summer dresses and sandals, mine coming in at £9.50 and Marta’s at £10.

We also selected some men’s clothes, a T-shirt, shirt, pair of jeans and pair of shorts, which with the deal was just £12 for both outfits.

It’s just a hop, skip and a jump to Middlegate, where there is more charity shops to choose from.

We headed into the PDSA shop, which regularly has a selection of tie-dye and vintage clothing.

Marta picked out a crochet cardigan for just £1.49, a tank top for £1.99 and trousers for £1.99, and we also found brands such as Topshop.

A £1.99 sale rale at The Children’s Society, Paxton’s Court, had a range of items for bargain price, including dresses fit for Ladies’ Day.

We finished our hunt at Barnardo’s, Slaughterhouse Lane.

There were plenty of bargain buys from brands including ASOS, Champion and Missguided for under £10 each.

There’s plenty more charity shops to have a rummage through, including the Beaumond House shop on Robin Hood Walk, British Red Cross on Middlegate, Sue Ryder at the Market Place and Cancer Research on Stodman Street.

Just like high-street shops, many of the charity shops also accept returns if you change your mind.